NIC receives $552,000 Albertson grant
COEUR d'ALENE - Potential college students in North Idaho who lack the basic skills or high school degree needed to attain their higher education goals are getting some help from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation.
The Coeur d'Alene-based community college is one of six state colleges to share $4.6 million in grants announced Thursday by the foundation.
NIC will use its $552,000 grant award to expand its I-BEST (Idaho Basic Education and Skills Training) program, a new initiative piloted last fall that allows students to attain a GED while learning a trade through one of the college's professional-technical programs.
"This grant will allow us to bridge the gap for those participating in the Adult Basic Education program who want to go on to earn a degree or certificate at NIC," said college president Priscilla Bell. "Our ABE/GED program directs more new students to NIC than most high schools in the region. It's important that we help those students along their educational path and these funds will help us improve our processes for doing that."
NIC's I-BEST program allows students to position themselves so they are academically eligible for financial aid and scholarships so they can afford to continue moving toward their educational goals.
The grants were awarded through the Albertson Foundation's new Continuous Enrollment Initiative. Part of the private family foundation's "Go On" challenge, a campaign to better prepare high school students for college, the Continuous Enrollment Initiative aims to bolster the number of college students who remain in school through graduation, and draw more non-traditional students to higher education.
The national Measuring Up 2008 Report ranks Idaho 50th in the number of first-time freshmen who return for their second year of college.
Meanwhile, the foundation cites a forecast by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) that by 2018, 63 percent of job openings will require workers with at least some college education.
"If we can help more students continue their education and earn degrees and certificates, everyone benefits - businesses, the state, colleges, and especially the students, because with every year of education they complete beyond high school, they can expect to earn 10 to 20 percent more annually," said foundation director Jamie MacMillan, in a prepared statement.
Each of the Albertson foundation's six grant recipients - College of Southern Idaho, College of Western Idaho, Eastern Idaho Technical College, Idaho State University College of Technology, Lewis-Clark State College and NIC - have accredited two-year programs that lead to technical certificates, associate degrees and four-year transfer options. They also have on-site Adult Basic Education programs that lead to GED certification.
Additionally, the foundation believes the selected colleges are a good match based on the CEW's recent ranking of Idaho as third in the nation for the creation of jobs requiring an associate's degree.